The Craftsman Cocktails and Kitchen is an American Restaurant and distillery in North Scottsdale AZ. If you were a fan of the fine dining Italian restaurant Sassi then you might be a fan of this restaurant because the same chef is here now. This restaurant offers a big dog friendly patio that wraps around the restaurant.
They also have garage door style windows that add even more patio space during nice weather days.
Inside is open, modern and airy.
Another dining area and the distillery is on the other side.
On my last visit we did take out but I thought if I got here early that the patio would be quiet.
Two weeks back I got to order from the all day menu but they now serve brunch on the weekends.
From my take out last time I did try the AZ Hot Chicken Lollipops over blue cheese slaw. They were tender and tasty but not really hot. We also tried the wagyu pastrami sandwich and the hammer and anvil porchetta sandwich.
I asked the waitress about the fried AZ hot chicken biscuit sandwich and she said it was the same heat as the lollipops. I prefer more heat when I eat something hot so I ordered something else. I left my normal comfort zone (chicken and fish) and decided to try the Distillers porcini crusted burger with a side salad slightly special ordered. I LOVE cheese but I think cheese makes my burgers too salty so I asked for the cheese on the side so I could put it on my salad.
The burger is large and is a blend of brisket and short rib. It is topped with caramelized onion, arugula and garlic aioli and a soft fresh brioche bun. The mushroom rub gives the burger a unique taste. I like that they prepared my burger to a perfect medium like I asked for. The side salad is especially good. Everything taste very farm fresh…..
My husband tried the short rib hash.
The eggs didn’t come seasoned so my husband had to ask for salt and pepper. The short ribs in it are fatty and succulent.
This spacious restaurant is almost empty-
and suddenly three tables walk in and the hostess clusters them all around us……
That was our brunch at The Craftsman Cocktails and Kitchen.
www.TheCraftsmanAZ.com
Every THING is subject to change and your experience may indeed differ.
Here is just a little taste of the newly opened The Craftsman Cocktails and Kitchen in North Scottsdale. By the time you go there a permanent new sign might be on the building. They offer lots of patio dining that wraps around the building. There are also windows on garage type doors that open up to extend the patio.
The inside is bright, airy, rich and modern.
To the left of the entrance is an in-house distillery and also another dining area.
To the right is the main area of the restaurant.
The menu offers many interesting sounding things to try. The menu is mostly American. The chef is from the fine dining Italian restaurant that used to be located in North Scottsdale called Sassi.
For our first visit we did some take out.
We started out by sharing (top left) a small order of lollipop wings over blue cheese slaw. They were manicured very nicely and were tasty and tender. They were not too tangy or too hot so most people would like them. The slaw seemed fresh made and liked getting the big chunks of blue cheese every now and then.
For my main I tried the wagyu pastrami on pretzel bun with a side salad.
The pastrami is flavored very nicely. The pretzel bun is also very good and is toasted to perfection. I got some crunchy fresh slaw on the side. But the roll It’s just too large for my taste so I eat the sandwich on just the smaller bottom part of the bun and I still have a good amount of bread. They forgot to give me the caraway mustard that it is suppose to come with so I don’t know how that would be. I do have to say that the side salad was very above average for a side salad. All the vegetables tasted unusually fresh and flavorful. Even the carrots didn’t taste like supermarket carrots and I like the flavorful house dressing too.
My husband tried the hammer and anvil porchetta sandwich on ciabatta with house potato chips.
He got a sandwich packed with pork shoulder, Craftsman sausage, rapini, cheddar, and for him herb aioli on the side. Perhaps from the car ride home the porchetta got sort of dry……But need to mention that the sausage, rapini, herb aioli and cheese were exceptionally good. The potato chips were also very good. Nice and thin and seemed free of oil.
That was just a little taste of The Craftsman Cocktails and Kitchen in North Scottsdale.
www.TheCraftsmanAZ.com
Everything is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.
Experts say that take out food is a less risky option than dining in during the pandemic so we are doing take out instead of dining in. We will consider patio dining as soon as the weather is nice.
Our first stop for take out was from Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in North Phoenix. They offer around a dozen different Banh Mi baguette sandwiches, many Vietnamese favorites, but no pho here. Portions are very large and prices are low.
Today we both got rice plates. They come with an enormous amount of moist delicious tender meat, pork egg rolls, rice, pickled vegetables, fish sauce (to dip meat in) and chili sauce. For many people this can be two meals. We recommend getting the grilled chicken (thigh), shaken beef (rib eye that is tender like filet mignon), Grilled pork. These plates are a value at only $10.00 each. My dogs are always very yappy…I mean happy to help eat all this delicious meat.
“We LOVE eating Banh Mi Bistro Food!”
Another brand NEW restaurant opened in North Scottsdale that we wanted to try called The Craftsman Cocktails and Kitchen. The chef is from a very nice restaurant that we used to go to called Sassi. They offer an interesting American type menu and have a distillery in house. The restaurant is big, bright, modern and airy. They also offer lots of patio seating.
We took out wings, a porchetta sandwich with chips and a wagyu pastrami sandwich with a side salad. Some things we really liked a lot. Some things might not have traveled well. My dogs sure enjoyed what I gave them.
We also did take out from Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante in Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide.
We got the most delicious mushroom pizza ever and we tried the truffle pasta special. The dogs got different leftovers.
Last take out of the week was curbside pick up from Chino Bandido in North Phoenix. Chino Bandido is famous for offering Chinese Take Out Style, Mexican Style and more BIG PAN Combos of food that is only priced starting at less than $10.00 and also comes with a big snickerdoodle cookie. The combo is two selections from the menu. You can upgrade either or both entrees into a quesadilla. Then pick a rice and pick a beans….It goes something like that…….Maybe you want a jade chicken quesadilla with carnitas jerk rice and refried beans????????? Or maybe you want egg foo young with pollo diablo with black beans and steamed rice????? Food Network calculated that you can pick from over 80,000 different combinations.
On the left my husband got hengrenade chicken, a Chile relleno, white rice and black beans. On the right I got a chile relleno, emerald chicken, white rice and black beans. The Chile relleno is always good. They use a fresh tasting pepper and stuff it with lots of cheese and give the pepper a crushed cracker coating. My favorite protein there is the emerald chicken. It’s a moist sliced breast with a gingery-garlic and onion type sprinkle. But my husband likes the hengrenade chicken better because it has a coating and is flavorful and spicy. This time we got sides of the spicy hot pepper, garlic, onion sauce. WOW that stuff peps thing up. Oh and did I mention that these are BIG PANS of food. My husband ate most of his but I get another meal out of mine. We also share one of the snickerdoodle cookies and I had lots to share with my dogs too!
“Don’t worry we are in this thing together and are here to help you eat all this delicious food”
Week 31 of take out food in Metro Phoenix AZ during the coronavirus pandemic.
Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery – North Phoenix
The Craftsman Cocktails and Kitchen – North Scottsdale
We have been doing take out during the coronavirus pandemic because experts say that there is less risk to catch the virus if you do take out instead of dining in. We are also trying to give support to as many small business restaurants as possible because they are all suffering during this crisis. Besides we are spending much less these days on shopping, groceries, entertainment and vacations that we missed. We have a little extra to treat ourselves to extra take out food. The weather will be nicer soon and we hope to do patio dining soon at off times on uncrowded patios.
Our first take out of the week was from CHZBURGR in Glendale. They serve especially great cheeseburgers and fried chicken thigh sandwiches. They also offer hot dogs, milk shakes, specials children’s meals and MORE! It’s hard to believe but the food is only priced about the same as from Jack In The Box and is a BILLION TIMES better than from Jack In The Box.
Crispy Chicken Thigh, Triple CHZBURGR and Tots
I had the crispy chicken thigh sandwich. The chicken is very good, moist juicy, flavorful, nicely seasoned and crispy. To elevate the sandwich they use hand made pickles, Asian mayonnaise and I was told that the buns are special and come from a Philadelphia Bakery. I liked it best when Calabrian Peppers was an option to add on. They haven’t had them lately so I just add my own on and it taste amazing that way. My husband always gets the Triple CHZBURGR. He says that it is just perfect. He says the fat, juice and cheese ratio is perfect. The tots are really good here too. My dogs can’t wait to eat some chicken.
Next take out from from a brand new restaurant that just opened in North Phoenix called Just Biryani.
We started out by trying the samosa chaat. It’s seasoned chickpeas with exotic flavors, a little heat, sauces and wet bread mixed in. Then we shared the gongura and ulavacharu chicken biryani dishes. They both are mostly fluffy rice with a little raw onion and half a boiled egg and a small amount of chicken. The gongura is made with tender boneless chicken. It has more flavors and some heat compared to the bone in ulavachara chicken biryani. My dogs got to try some.
Then we did take out from Pomo Pizzeria in Scottsdale. They an Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria. They are currently running a limited special fresh Burgundy Truffle Menu that we ordered from.
We started by sharing the tortelloni tartu. OOOOOOh this is really great! It’s like a twisted spinach ravioli stuffed with ricotta and gorgonzola cheese in a buttery sauce with truffles. This is really great! I also really liked the Bianco pizza. This pizza is ultra thin like paper. It’s topped with DELICIOUS stracchino, mozzarella, parmigiana cheeses, and truffles. My lucky dogs got some cheese and truffles.
Last take out of the week was from Chula Seafood in Phoenix. We took out the Saturday Surprise grilled Alaskan Halibut Collar for TWO special ($35.)
We got a very large halibut collar, a root vegetable tangine, herbed couscous, za’atar labneh and roti bread. WOW! it’s really great and everything goes together well. It’s a big portion of fish too. Had enough for two dinners and some left over for a lunch. Glad I was able to do this special.
“Don’t worry we are in this thing together and are here to help you eat all this delicious food”
That was week 30 of take out in Metro Phoenix AZ during the coronavirus pandemic.
CHZBURGR – Glendale
Just Biryani – North Phoenix
Pomo Pizzeria – Scottsdale
Chula Seafood – Phoenix
Everything is subject to change and we hope it does change for the better.
Experts say that take out food is a less risky option during the pandemic than dining in….. So to me it makes sense to do take out instead of dining in. All restaurants are struggling these days and we missed two or three vacations this year so we treat ourselves to extra take out food and try to help support small business restaurants. It makes me feel a little better about missing out on things and I feel better thinking that I am doing a good deed to help support small business restaurants.
This week we went to Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante in Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide for take out. Took my dogs on the way for a car ride. They love car rides. They knew where they were when we got here. They love Bottega.
My husband got the red lasagna and I tried the seasonal special of butternut squash ravioli. All was good here. They make delicious breads at Bottega that we started out with. The ravioli are what I call the flat style type because they are sort of on the flat side and don’t have much filling so they look a little flat. That makes them lighter so they aren’t too heavy. I also should mention that the filling that is in the raviolis is very flavorful and delicious. I like the way all that fresh sage infused the pasta with sage flavor. My in-laws make ravioli in this flat shape too. I also had this style ravioli at the Italian Restaurant that use to be in this spot many years ago called Tutti Santi. Gave my dogs some meat that was leftover from lunch.
It was still restaurant week so we thought we’d try the Mission at Kierland in Scottsdale.
We took out a stone fruit salad, crispy pork with cola lime glaze, red snapper al pastor, chorizo porchetta, carrot cake and pumpkin bread pudding. Some things were missing from the descriptions. The porchetta was missing cotija, bean puree and arugula. The salad was missing the goat horned brined cucumber and the fish came with sauces but little else. I did enjoy the chiltepin sauce that came with the fish. I thought it was really great and some of the other sauces were very complex and delicious that I tried. A few weren’t for my taste. These meals did not travel well and all were dry when we got them home. The driest of all was the sausage…..My snapper was a very small portion so I still had room for dessert ( look at top left appetizer because it is nearly the same size as an appetizer). I was told the dessert I wanted wasn’t available for take out so we tried the other two desserts that they were offing….(carrot cake and pumpkin bread pudding) I tried the carrot cake and it wasn’t for my taste or my husband’s taste. I’m not a big fan of bread pudding for dessert but the sauce and toppings were very good. My dogs didn’t mind the meat being dry.
“DOGS WIN! “When meats are dry we get MORE!”
We also did take out from Angelina’s Pho & Grill in Glendale/#UpperWestSide. (This restaurant by same ownership plans to change name to Lemongrass Vietnamese Bistro)
We took out the house stir fry with shrimp, chicken, egg, vegetables and rice noodles. We also took out the pan grilled salmon with vegetables and rice. The food is always different here. It’s also always different every time you order it. It’s a new restaurant every time you visit. Even the decor and paint change often. However the pho is always good and pretty much stays the same. The pho is officially among the best phos in the valley according to our local paper. Prices are always very reasonable. If I tell The Forking Truth….(like I always do) The service is usually bad…When you dine there sometimes you have to ask to get your beverage. They never clear plates. While you are still eating they will drop off a check and never ask you if you want dessert even though there was a dessert case filled with fancy desserts…Even when I phoned my order in I was put on hold…..sort of…..the person forgot I was on the phone and had a long conversation with someone. After maybe ten minutes of listening to their conversation I called back and the line was busy. I had to call a third time to order…… But the food is always at least good more often great so we go back. Dogs were happy to try some.
I haven’t been to Tim Finnegan’s in a while so we did take out there. It’s an Irish Restaurant located in Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide.
We ordered food items that we haven’t had here before. In the past we tried the fish and chips, a wasabi Caesar salad, corned beef, Shepard’s pie and those things were very good. Today we tried corned beef and cabbage taquitos, ahi tuna salad and bangers and mash with Heinz breakfast beans. Both of didn’t care for the taquitos because the filling was a blended up paste. The texture was off-putting to me…..but maybe other people might like it this way?? The ahi tuna salad was ok but not really too much like salad because it was over what seemed like slaw to me. The bangers and mash were all full of good flavors. Texture of banger was not the sausage type but more like a hot dog type. Gave my dogs some leftover dry porchetta from another take out.
That was week 28 of take out during the coronavirus pandemic.
We do take out food during the coronavirus pandemic because experts say that take out is safer than dining in. All restaurants are struggling these days and there is little to do safely so we do take out as much as possible.
One take out we did was from Banh Mi Bistro in North Phoenix. They are a small Vietnamese Eatery that offers most of your Vietnamese favorites except for pho.
Today I got the curry chicken with rice and my husband got the noodle bowl with grilled pork and shrimp. The food is always delicious, prices are very low and portions are very large. Not all but many of the meals can be two meals for some people. The owners are also very nice all the time. This is one of our regular spots. My dogs always love sharing the food from Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery.
Next take out was from La Piazza Al Forno in Old Town Glendale. They specialize in serving certified Neapolitan Pizzas. They also offer Roman Style Pizzas, American pizzas, Italian food and MORE!
Today we got the Tavola Mista (meats and cheeses, vegetables and more plate) an Italian Stallion Pizza (house made mozzarella, San Marzano Tomatoes, sausage, pepperoni, prosciutto di parma sopressata) and a Bianco pizza (house made mozzarella, ricotta, parmesan, fresh basil, Sicilian oregano and extra virgin olive oil) with added Calabrian peppers. Everything was delicious and we shared some with the dogs.
I haven’t been to Little Saigon in Old Town Glendale in a long time. It’s a charming little Vietnamese restaurant that offers a long menu of many different Vietnamese foods. Decided to do take out there. The owners are family with the Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in Phoenix.
We tried some things that we haven’t tried here before. We started with the beef wrapped in grape leaves. It’s something like Vietnamese fajitas. You take a grape leaf that is stuffed with beef. You add a variety of vegetables, fresh herbs shallots, peanuts and rice noodles. You stuff them in a rice paper and wrap with lettuce and dip it in fish sauce.
They are very tasty……lots of good flavors here! It’s a treat!
For my main I had the Ga Xao Xa Ot (spicy chicken onions vegetables in lemon grass soy fish sauce. The dark meat boneless chicken was tender and tasty. The sauce was funky and kind of sweet. It was different but good to me. I never had anything that tasted like this before. But it wasn’t too spicy…just mild with slight heat. My husband enjoyed the tom xao thap cam cay (spicy shrimp stir fry with vegetables). It was good but also mild heat. My dogs enjoyed the food from Little Saigon too!
It’s restaurant week so we thought we’d try Zinc Bistro in Scottsdale because they were offering fresh truffles.
A few things were forgotten (including the truffles) but the mains were very good. I had an excellent Faroe Island Salmon. It was cooked to perfection. It came with carrots, roasted celery root, a salad of purslane and crispy sun chokes with truffle vinaigrette and this amazing barigoule (artichoke) sauce. My husband enjoyed the Prime Flat Iron Steak. It had this special black pepper crust, It was delicious and came with lots of seasoned fries and a complex sauce. My dogs sure enjoyed some meat scraps from Zinc Bistro.
P.S. my husband called to let them know they forgot the truffles so they would remove the truffles from our bill. They were extra generous and removed my whole meal from the check.
We decided that we could squeeze one more restaurant in. Our last take out of the week was from Squid Ink Sushi in Peoria/#UpperWestSide.
I haven’t tried their sushi yet but I did notice that they offer many dishes besides sushi that sound interesting. I wanted to try their Scottish Salmon because Scottish Salmon isn’t found anywhere in the Upper West Side. The salmon was prepared reasonably well and came with a variety of vegetables, LOTS of sliced avocado and tasty sushi rice. I think it’s a great find to find Scottish Salmon like this for only around $15.00. My husband tried the Beef Yakisobsa. It was also reasonably well prepared. It was made with very tender filet mignon and also came with a nice assortment of vegetables and Asian flavored soba noodles. As per usual my dogs couldn’t wait to try some.
“Don’t worry we are in this thing together and are here to help you eat all this delicious food”
That was week 27 of take out during the coronavirus pandemic in Metro Phoenix AZ.
The restaurants we did take out from this week –
Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Bistro – North Phoenix
La Piazza Al Forno – Old Town Glendale
Little Saigon – Old Town Glendale
Zinc Bistro – Scottsdale
Squid Ink Sushi – Peoria/#UpperWestSide
Every THING is subject to change and we HOPE it DOES CHANGE for the better.
This is a collection of most of the sweet memories (desserts) I took out from Metro Phoenix Restaurants during the pandemic. The desserts are not in any particular order. Some were better than others but all of them were yummy!
Above is the macerated strawberries from Confluence Carefree. it was so light and not too sweet. it even had these macadamia nuts that taste so good. When I buy macadamia nuts from the store they don’t taste as good..
A chocolate brownie with fresh raspberries and fruit sauce also from Confluence in Carefree.
Next is the complimentary snickerdoodle cookie from –
Chino Bandido in North Phoenix. What’s not to like?
Beignets with delicious sauces from Twist Bistro and Galley in North Scottsdale.
Also from Twist Bistro and Gallery was this amazing Mascarpone Cheese Cake with Pistachio Praline, Salted caramel whipped cream and strawberries.
This was really great. It’s like when you go to a fancy resort restaurant and they have a pastry chef that makes the desserts. This one was just as great. (better than some from resorts)
Next one is….
Chocolate Mousse Tort from Aliello’s East Coast Italian in Phoenix. Also from another visit to Aliello’s East Coast Italian was the Cannoli. Both very good.
From La Piazza Al Forno is the cheesecake.
Ii’m very picky about cheese cake and most I don’t like because they are very rich and too sour for me. This one is lighter with the right amount oof sweetness.
From Vincent Market Bistro in Phoenix was the Lemon Pomelo Tart. To the left was complimentary sponge cake they generously gave us. VMB always makes great desserts. They are among the best.
The next one I took out but can’t find the photo so I added my photo from previously dining in.
Here’s the Mascarpone Chocolate Cake from Cucina Tagliani in Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide. I’m not the biggest fan of chocolate cake but this really is very good.
From Twist Bistro & Gallery in North Scottsdale is a strawberry rhubarb cobbler.
Next-
Strawberry cobbler from Confluence in Carefree.
Great pies are served at all the Collins Restaurants.
From Wally’s American Gastropub in Scottsdale-
The coconut custard pie. My husband hates coconut and even he said it was a delicious pie.
From The Collins in Phoenix –
This Chocolate Mousse Tort
From The Collins –
The Key Lime Pie made with 40 hand squeezed key limes in every pie. It’s an amazing key lime pie. It might be the best key lime pie in metro Phoenix.
From Stratta Kitchen in Scottsdale –
Came this amazing rich Triple Chocolate Cake….yes it’s worth the calories. It really was REALLY GREAT!
I couldn’t find the picture of the strawberry tub of Gelato I took out from Fabio On Fire in Peoria/#UpperWestSide. I did find my photo of the tub of peach Gelato I took out but that picture didn’t come out so good so I’m showing a picture of some of his FABULOUS Gelato from visiting his restaurant.
This gelato is to die for. I haven’t tried all the flavors yet but everything I tried so far was FORKING AMAZING! Fabio should sell his gelato across the country. His gelato really is FABULOUS!
From Alzohour Market in Glendale we got this AMAZING Kunafa noodle pastry stuffed with cheese and topped with sweet syrup and pistachios.
OMG! This was prepared fresh for us and came out piping hot. This was so freaking epic!
Here is another astonishing dessert from Confluence in Carefree.
it was Sake Poached Pears with Angel Cake, Candied Almonds and Yuzu Curd.
This was 19 delicious desserts we took out from restaurants during the coronavirus pandemic.
Everything is subject to change and we hope it does change for the better.
According to the experts take out is a less risky option than dining in and we aren’t risk takers so we do take out during the pandemic. Our first take out of the week was from a little casual place in Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide called Skewers Mediterranean Grill.
They make really great $7.50 salads. I got the one with pickled turnips and chicken kabob. My husband got the chicken shawarma with chickpeas and pickles. I just love the fresh herby tabouli it’s only $3. so why not? My dogs enjoyed some of the tasty chicken kabob.
Next take out was from Twist Bistro & Galley in North Scottsdale. They are a small modern restaurant that swings towards Mediterranean.
We started out by sharing the falafels. They were crisp and herby inside. They came with tahini aioli and garlic yogurt sauce. For my main I had the Mediterranean Salad. WOW! it was packed with all kinds of goodies. The salad came with marinated olives, almond golden raisin couscous, crispy chickpeas, minted cucumbers, good ripe tomatoes, really good creamy feta, hummus and really delicious sauces..and I added the salmon as my protein (the salmon here is very good). WOW! It’s like a special occasion Birthday salad. My husband got the steak sandwich pallard. It’s a really good beef (tenderloin) on a really great baguette (garlic toasted Noble Bread) with mozzarella cheese, horseradish and demi sauces. The cheesecake here is very good so we shared that too. It’s not heavy and sour like most cheesecakes I’ve tasted. It’s light creamy and delicious and detailed with pistachio praline, salted caramel, strawberries, whipped cream and a tasty crumb crust. Dogs helped with the generous portion of salmon.
Our last take out of the week was from a brand new restaurant that just opened this week called Gabriella’s Contemporary American Cuisine in Scottsdale. They were just on TV and the food looked so good from TV we wanted to try some.
On the left is the short rib grilled cheese and on the right is the fish and chips. I live 35 minutes away so the food didn’t travel as well as from some of the closer places that I go to but all was tasty. As per usual I always share some with my dogs.
“Don’t worry we are in this thing together and are here to help you eat all that delicious food”
That was week 25 oof take out during the coronavirus pandemic. The restaurants that we did take out from –
We do take out during the pandemic because dining in involves risk to exposure to the coronavirus. All restaurants are struggling these days and since we are spending so much less than we normally do we are doing take out as much as possible.
Our first take out of the week was from Pita Kitchen ( a casual Greek Restaurant) in Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide.
We both got Greek Salads mine was topped with a chicken kabob and my husband’s salad was topped with gyro meat. The gyro was great like it usually is. My chicken had good flavor but was on the dry side today but not bad. We always enjoy the fresh baked pita bread here. I had plenty to share with my dogs.
Our next take out was from Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante (Italian Restaurant) also in Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide.
Today we went with a few specials.a delicate pasta with eggplant, pesto and pine nuts, Chicken piccata, a side salad and chicken pizziola. Everything had really good flavors and the bread is always great too! The dogs couldn’t wait to try some.
We treated ourselves to the AMAZING fried chicken from Confluence in Carefree.
Confluence is a small but upscale restaurant that serves modern American Cuisine. The moist chicken came with blue corn grits, broccoli and this incredible honey mustard chili-tepin sauce. As delicious as it was…and IT WAS! I saved half for latter so we could splurge on dessert. We got sake poached pears with angel cake and yuzu curd with almond brittle……This was all amazing! I shared some chicken and a small amount of cake with my dogs.
Our next take out came from a small Indian Restaurant called Wraps ‘N’ Curry. When they first opened most of the menu was naan wrap sandwiches. I recently noticed that they fully expended their menu and offer over 20 different Indian dishes. They make a DELICIOUS onion stuffed naan bread called onion kulcha.
Today we tried the Karachi Chicken and the Vindaloo Chicken.
Both dishes were nicely spiced but not very hot with heat. The Chicken in both was incredibly moist and tender. My bigger dog was incredibly excited to try some.
Last take out oof the week was from Stratta Kitchen in Scottsdale.
They have a family pak special so we gave it a try for lunch and dinner. A few of the things we had before are different now. The salmon is not med/med-rare any more and is now a kabob. The chop salad is made with much less egg and avocado now but everything did taste good. Below is my take out from Stratta Kitchen from just a few weeks ago.
I shared some salmon with the dogs.
“Don’t worry we are in this thing together and are here to help you eat all that delicious food”
That was week 24 of Take Out in Metro Phoenix AZ During the CoronaVirus Pandemic.
Unless I make a trip to Nelsons or Chula Seafood it is hard for me to buy fresh fish. I have purchased inedible fish from Frys, Safeway and Costco. I have paid top dollar from AJ’s Fine Foods and got less than fresh. For those reasons I mostly gave up preparing fish at home and enjoy eating fish out or taking it home these days. The dishes below are not in any particular order. Here are some of the fish dishes I took out from restaurants since around March 2020.
On the right is the grilled salmon from Cucina Tagliani in Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide. It’s a good size portion that is prepared reasonably well and I like that you can have healthy options like double vegetables instead of pasta. I had spaghetti squash and asparagus. My husband had a shrimp and pasta dish that night.
The best tacos near to my house are from Taco Fusion on Glendale. My favorite taco from them is the mild habanero chicken taco with pineapple salsa but all their tacos are good. They even use hand made tortillas. On the right is their fish taco. Doesn’t taste like a fish taco from Mexico but it is a good taco and is better than most fish tacos I try out . My husband says that the shrimp tacos here are really great so I’ll take his word for it.
Everything from Confluence in Carefree is extraordinary!
These are the halibut lunch tacos from Confluence. Nobody prepares fish as masterfully as from Confluence. The crispy skin on fish actually can taste good and stays crisp from beginning to end. Even the finest restaurants anywhere can’t do that as well. If you like to eat fish than you must take the splurge and try one of their fish dinners.
You can even get fish from Rocket Burger in North Phoenix.
On the left is a double cheese burger with a really big fried chili pepper but on the right is their super tasty Mexican Fish Sandwich. It’s delicious I have to have one once in a while. The slaw and rocket sauce are so darn tasty that you can slap it on a hamster and the hamster would taste good.
I would say among the top fish take outs was from Twist Bistro and Gallery in North Scottsdale.
I had the Salmon dish twice. It was really great both times. Very few restaurants in metro Phoenix prepares salmon this well. My husband is just as found of their Shrimp Diablo dish below.
Aiello’s Italian Restaurant in Phoenix offers three course dinners with a bottle of wine and a candle for ($50.&$65.)
I got a generous pan of salmon with artichokes and a tasty potato croquette. The other dishes were tasty too!
In Peoria (#UpperWestSide) is the Twisted Italian and they offer a Friday Night Walleye Special. (It’s that BIG PAN on the left in the picture below.)
It’s more food than a human can eat and I tried to order it a few weeks before and it was sold out. Now I know why.
I also got a salmon salad from Chula Seafood in Phoenix.
It was prepared well and everything was fresh. My husband got some sort of grilled tuna sandwich that day.
Below was our take out from Vincents Market Bistro in Phoenix.
To be honest (like I always am) I didn’t order the salmon dinner but wound up with it. When we called them to let them know of the mix up they quickly took care of things. VMB has been a long time favorite of mine and I have enjoyed dining in here for a decade or so now. Dining in they always give you delicious fresh baked croissants and some of the best desserts in town.
Below is the really great Halibut from Fabio On Fire in Peoria #UpperWestSide.
The halibut was cooked to perfection and also was a large portion that came with fancy vegetables in a delicious sauce. This was really great!
We did take out from Wally’s American Gastropub in Scottsdale.
My husband said the meatloaf from here is really great. I liked the healthier grilled salmon with tomatoes and really tasty cauliflower. It was filling but light enough to add on one of their really delicious slices of pie.
FnB in the arts district of Scottsdale usually offers delicious wood grilled seafood.
Upper left hand corner is the Blue Nose with Citrus and Couscous
One of the plates to get from Scott’s Generations Restaurant and Delicatessen is the fish plate supreme (middle). It’s suppose to serve one person but I always get three servings from it.
It think it’s kind of special because you get to pick three kinds of fish for it. One fish I always pick is the smoked sturgeon because it cost around $40 a pound and you seldom find it anywhere. They offer belly and nova lox. (Belly is better but sometimes it runs too salty) and then I pick something like white fish too. I think it’s fun to get once in a while.
Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in North Phoenix offers a few fish dishes. Bellow is the middle is the Lotus root salad.
I think it only cost $5.00 and comes with shrimp.
Nayana Japanese Kitchen recently opened in the Arcadia Area of Phoenix,
On the left side of the picture is a spicy tuna roll and the very tasty salmon yuanyaki.
Below is the amazing house smoked salmon from the Barrio Cafe in Phoenix (Lower Left)
WOW! it was all so delicious! YUM!
From Szechwan Cuisine in Glendale (on the left) I tried the fish with fungus in egg white sauce.
In the middle my husband tried the kung pao shrimp.
Also in Glendale we did take out from Taylor’s Chowder House.
On the left my husband got the dish that is called 2 plus 2 (2 cod 2 shrimp) and I got the Sole Florentine. They were very generous with the potatoes and fish in the 2+2. I like that they serve vegetables with the dishes.
We even did take out by Old Town Scottsdale and did take out from Starlite BBQ.
I tried the Hot Fried Catfish there and it was very good!
Went back to Twist Bistro and Gallery in North Scottsdale.
The Grilled Hawaiian Opah Special was really good! (and so was everything else!) That beef sandwich and Moroccan Vegetable soup were really great too!
We did take out from a really special Thai Restaurant in Phoenix called Glai Baan.
On the left corner is their famous Mackerel fried rice. Everything was really great!
Stratta Kitchen recently opened in Scottsdale. I had another one of the best salmons there.
On the left is the mistral salad with added salmon. WOW this was a really great salad and a spectacular salmon. This was really special.
Those were 27 fish dishes we took out in Metro Phoenix so far in 2020.
Everything is subject to change and we hope it does change for the better.
